Amid the escalating row over Kenya deporting Taiwanese citizens to China, Taiwan's government now fears that Malaysia would also follow the same pattern.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that 20 Taiwanese suspects who were held in Malaysia have boarded Taiwan bond flight, but fate of additional 32 suspects remained unclear.

Like Us on Facebook

The ambiguity surrounding the fate of the 32 suspects has raised concerns among Taiwanese officials who fear that they might be deported to China, Just like Kenya did last week.

Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the Taiwanese suspects in Malaysia are being held over charges of telephone fraud - the same charges that several Taiwanese and Chinese citizens were facing in Kenya.

China's Ministry of Public Security says that telephone fraud aimed at swindling money from Chinese citizens has increased drastically over the years. The ministry further added that Taiwanese criminal syndicate based in foreign countries are the ring leaders of this fraud.

Chinese media claims that most of these Taiwanese criminal syndicates are largely based in Southeast Asian and African countries. They reportedly recruit Taiwanese and Chinese nationals, who call Chinese citizens, while pretending to be "law enforcement officers" and swindle millions of Yuans from them.

Meanwhile, a group of officials from Taiwan are scheduled to travel to China next week to discuss the deportation row with Chinese officials, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said on Friday.

The ongoing deportation row, which may escalate further if Malaysia follows footsteps of Kenya, will be the first litmus test for president elect Tsai Ing-wen. Hailed as "pro independent leader", Tsai Ing-wen will take office next month.

Tagschina, Taiwan, Malaysia, Cross-Strait relation